Quilted for Tea Time

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Isn’t this just the most elegantmat?  This was a birthday gift from my dear friend Suzanne Sawko who has honed her free motion quilting skills to a level that qualifies as real art.

The varied textures and intricate patterns on this piece make it almost too pretty to use.  The stippling is so tiny that those areas appear flat.   The quilting designs vary from large and open to small and tight.  Variety makes this such an interesting piece to study, especially while enjoying a cup of tea.

rug alone

Suzanne is a great fan of on-line classes and has taken several quilting courses.  One of these focused on free-style feathers and other free motion quilting techniques.  The designs are not drawn onto the fabric, but created like a pencil sketch drawn with no eraser. Continue reading

Aunt Rheeta~My Heroine

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Aunt Rheeta at our Rebecca’s wedding

 

Yes, she is my heroine and she would be yours too if you knew her.  I want to be just like her when I grow up—oops,  too late for that!  Well then, I want to be just like her when I am her age–78.

This post is only remotely related to sewing, but we all need inspiration and Aunt Rheeta is mine.

Her most recent activity spurred me to write this post.  She is one amazing woman.  Her friend Laura, the 88 years old  catcher (!!!!), is one of the few who can keep up with her.  Yes, Aunt Rheeta hangs with a tough crowd.

 

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I think she said Mickey Mantle was her coach.

At the age when so many people are winding down, or have long since finished  that process, my  fit, fun Aunt Rheeta lives her life full steam ahead.  Now she is a medalist in the Senior Olympics where she competed in baseball, bowling (averaging 126!) and horseshoes. Continue reading

Moving on…..

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It seemed as though I would never finish this simple little pini-4, but at last it is checked off on my to-do list.  There were no technical complications, but rather just a matter if life getting in the way.  Entire days passed when I did not sew and that makes me cranky.  I feel better now.

The original plan was to add a row of cable under the beaded ribbon, but in my eagerness to finish this up I just forgot.  Of course, it’s not too late and I could still do it.  It  really would look better.  But I am tired of this project.  It’s done. I’m ready to move on.

The pattern is the same one I used for the Liberty of London popover for granddaughter Vivian Rose.  But I look forward to when Lisa at Mommy’s Apron Strings releases her very similar pattern.  She has so many improvements, like sizing.

 

pini4-patt Continue reading

Shadow Embroidery by Embroidery Machine

Catching up with my must-do’s so that I can write a new post has been nearly impossible. I won’t bore you with ALLL the details, but one obstacle is time spent supervising 7 year old grandson Robert as he works on the book he has written, Football Frenzy (which soon I HOPE and expect to be for sale @ $7, at least until Amazon or BooksAMillion pick it up ;-)). After I printed up two copies for his perusal, he decided that it is too short. So he is back to composing, adding a chapter on recipes for football watching snacks and more.

Roberts book cover

Additionally, I have been substitute teaching Sunday School for 1st-5th graders, a satisfying but time consuming task.

So until I finish the little popover pinafore (Pini-4) which is almost done, I resort yet again to putting up a post from the past.

Shadow embroidery by machine continues to be of great interest. Though you probably have a greater chance of winning the lottery than of laying hands on any one of Suzanne Hinshaw’s to-die-for collections, you just might get lucky. There are other designers mentioned below with sets or individual designs.

So here is the old post, with a few photos of projects done since putting this one up. A real, new, fresh post should be up very soon.

grandson's Easter outfit with shadow embroidery from Southern Stitches’ Shadow Work Baby Collection

grandson’s Easter outfit with shadow embroidery from Southern Stitches™ Shadow Work Baby Collection

Continue reading

Busy-ness and Sewing

That’s what I’ve been up to, mostly being busy and doing some sewing. But there hasn’t been a minute to photograph or record my life in “the fast lane.”  Ha!  I guess I’m like (or I actually am!) the little old lady who drives down the interstate in the left lane going 10 mph below the speed limit.  But she is in the fast lane and it feels like that’s where I am, cruising but not moving as fast as I should be in this lane.

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I’ve spent a precious little time in the sewing room. Another of those Pini-4’s, like the one made earlier for 6 month old Vivian Rose, is in the works.  Oh, and I’ve bought yards and yards of fabric, totally blowing my fabric starvation diet. Drat those irresistable sales at Martha Pullen and Farmhouse Fabrics!  But the yardage is lovely and will be so much fun to sew up.

I’m looking forward to finishing the outfit above for Vivian Rose.  The yoke and bloomers will be lavender microcheck and the bloomer ruffles will be cut from the print fashion fabric with Swiss dots.  Instead of piping, I plan to use the wide beading across the yokes and edge the perimeter with the Swiss trim shown.

An 18″ length of the perfect color grosgrain ribbon was in my stash, but that is not nearly enough.  The ribbon shown was purchased because it fit the beading and is purple, though it looks more blue in the photo.  But I’m not happy with it.  I hope to find a better match before it’s time for construction.

In an earlier post (or was it in response to a post comment?) it was mentioned that Lisa at Mommy’s Apron Strings is working on a very similar pattern with some improvements.  She expects to release it soon, so any fans of this look might want to keep an eye on her blog.  Click here to see her darling prototypes.

We’ve had lots of delightful time with grandchildren and Football Frenzy, 7 year old Robert’s book, is going to press this weekend.  He has worked hard  researching interesting facts, statistics and quotes and has written and typed it all himself.  As his editor, my involvement has been primarily to lay it out for printing. Robert very excited about it, though so far, Amazon has expressed no interest in carrying it.  But family and friends are feagerly reserving their $7 copies. Here are a few excerpts. Continue reading

Modeling their New Clothes

 

modeling their July 4th outfits

modeling their July 4th outfits

I simply must show you the pictures that Rebecca just sent of Alastair and Vivian Rose wearing the outfits I made recently.  You’ve probably already seen these clothes and I know I am Pitiful Nana to HAVE to show these off.  I’m like the grandmothers who pull out the 11 x 17″ g’baby photo albums at every opportunity.  But I am what I am.

 

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Six month old Vivian Rose, our own four-tooth “Chubbalicious,” is finally getting hair in a reversed sequence of her mother’s development.  Rebecca was born with thick, dark hair that nearly covered her ears but it all fell out and at her first birthday she had about as much as does Vivian Rose now.  Vivian also has 2 teeth now while her mother didn’t cut her first almost until her first birthday.  I thought I might have to send her to  kindergarten with pureed baby food in her lunch box.  FYI, this Children’s Corner Bobbie bubble is a size 18 months!

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July 4th Outfits and At Home Celebrations

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I love the 4th of July and everything that goes with it.  I love the picnics, the parades, the fireworks, the flag waving, the declarations of patriotism, the television broadcast of A Capitol Fourth, all that and more.  But what I love most is the blessings and freedoms we celebrate on Independence Day.  Oh–that and the children’s clothes, too!

When our children were still at home, we hosted a huge picnic with as many as 175 guests.  I wrote an article about it for the 1988 summer issue of Sew Beautiful.  For any who would like to stroll down Memory Lane with me, the  article is reprinted at the end of this post. Continue reading

My Little Tie Guy

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VBS day #1–Gator tie, 6″.  I should have made the 8″ size.

From the moment he first saw the mirror reflection of himself wearing a tie, our 7 year old grandson, Robert, adopted the cravat as his signature fashion accessory.  Even for Wednesday night church potluck suppers, he has always liked to wear a tie.   Selecting just the right one for Sunday morning has always been a lengthy process.

With a grin, Robert recently confided to me that the kids at church call him  “Tie Guy.”  I frequently teach his Sunday School class and have never heard this, but he declares it is true–and who am I to argue with a 7 yo who wants to wear a tie to church?

 

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Day #2–vest and bow tie. Even though I enlarged the design, it is still too small. And yet he loved it.  Instead of the embroidered buttons in  the original design, real buttons were added, along with his “cypher”  (click here and scroll down the post to see why RCF is not a monogram).

 

But it’s just not practical to wear a tie to Vacation Bible School.  So when he asked me to make him a tie for each day, these embroidered tee shirts were the perfect solution.  Because Robert so rarely asks me to sew for him, I spent time each day searching for “tie” designs and my evenings stitching his shirt (and sometimes one for his sister Laurel) for the next day.  Each afternoon was dedicated to their homeschool lessons.  Whew!  I was worn out by the end of the week. Continue reading

Desperation Bubble

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Have you ever been  desperate to smock and thwarted in the effort?  Desperate to stitch hand embroidery and been hampered? Desperate to sew in a power outage?  I bet the answer is yes.

It reminds me of my crazy friend Catherine who, 25 years ago, had taken her boys to the beach.  Settled down in the sand on an old quilt, under her beach umbrella, she pulled out her smocking only to discover that she had everything but a needle!  Desperate, like me, she walked up and down Daytona Beach asking each sunbather if she might have a #7 crewel needle that Catherine could borrow or buy.  That, my friends, is desperation.  To no one’s surprise but Catherine’s, she came up empty handed.

How this bubble came to be is a result of such desperation.  It didn’t turn out as planned, it didn’t turn out great,  it didn’t really please me.  But it did scratch my itch  for some form–any form!– of needlework. Continue reading

Smocked Pini-4 for Vivian Rose

Coming soon! Grandbaby Closet Sale–All those special items too small too soon or just plain outgrown need to go to a new closet  At least one of Vivian Rose’s daygowns has never been worn.  Also coming soon (we hope), hair on her pretty head!

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Rebecca, baby Vivian Rose and I are quite pleased with this little Pini-4.   The smocked skirt is Liberty of London and the machine monogrammed, self-lined bodice is hot pink microcheck.

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There are no buttons or buttonholes, only ties at the neck, center back and underarms.   With a little careful planning or by following the pattern exactly (I just can’t do it!), this super quick and easy pattern COULD be a joy to stitch.   So I neeeeeeded to add piping, sure and how about some  tatting–oh yeah!  And I wanted to line it with my preferred method rather than as directed. Continue reading